Israeli minister says security cabinet approved West Bank outposts legalisation, PA sanctions

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the security cabinet had approved his proposal to legalise five West Bank outposts and implement a series of sanctions on the Palestinian Authority (PA).

However, there has been no official confirmation from the Israeli government or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

The five outposts set to be legalised are "Evyatar in the northern West Bank, Sde Efraim and Givat Asaf in the central West Bank, and Heletz and Adorayim in the southern part of the territory", according to The Times of Israel.

The reported sanctions on the PA include the cancellation of exit visas for PA officials, restrictions on their movement and the transfer of enforcement responsibilities from the PA to Israel over a nature preserve in the Judean desert.